When Julius Buzzard, Executive Director of the Ypsilanti-based nonprofit Growing Hope, talks about the B2B Trail as a “really critical community asset,” it comes with a lot of credibility. Julius has dedicated his career – and life – to community impact. As much as anyone, he deeply understands the importance of safe and accessible local spaces and the value of community work. To him, the B2B Trail is not only a place to get in his weekly runs along the Ypsilanti-Ann Arbor corridor close to home, or after a drive out to Dexter, but is also “a place to bring people together in a safe and equitable way.”
Julius has long been passionate about creating positive change through his work, and especially in his hometown of Ypsilanti. His drive for place-based community impact – coupled with his lifeline love of gardening and farming that started in his grandparents’ large gardens as a kid – led him to his current role at the helm of Growing Hope. With a mission to foster an equitable and sustainable food system where all people are empowered to grow, sell, buy, prepare, and eat nourishing food, the organization makes a difference in the lives of Ypsilanti and Washtenaw County residents everyday.
If you’re not familiar with Growing Hope, you probably should be. And you’re two decades late to the party. Celebrating an amazing 20 years of existence in 2023, the organization operates an urban farm in downtown Ypsilanti where they grow produce, provide educational opportunities through farming, and give all of their food back to community through their food cart, while also running two Ypsilanti Farmers Markets and overseeing an incubator kitchen for local food-based small businesses.
When describing his passion for his work, Julius talks about things like “local,” “healthy,” “equitable,” “bringing people together,” “taking care of each other.” These are words and phrases he used to articulate the amazing work that Growing Hope does – but, as Julius points, could all be used by someone describing the importance of the B2B Trail, as well. “Community assets like the B2B Trail, and local organizations like Growing Hope and so many others, are truly what makes this area special,” he says. And is why he chooses to call it home.
If you want to learn more about the impact Growing Hope has in Ypsilanti and surrounding communities, and support their work, check out the two Farmers Markets they operate – the Depot Town Farmers Market at 100 Rice St, open on Saturdays, and the Ypsi Area Online Market, with pickup on Tuesdays from 3pm-7pm at 16 S. Washington Street – both open every week from now through October. You might even see Julius there with his daughter after their commute from their home to the market along the B2B Trail.
For the second installment of our “B2B Trail – Concept to Completion” series, we are focusing on the first major step in developing a segment of trail – project planning. Obviously, no other step in the process could happen without proper planning – making this stage one of the most critical in any trail project. And, like so many other aspects of this work, it requires strong collaboration amongst partners.
Bergmann and OHM Advisors Bandemer-Barton tunnel pathway
The first collaboration point in B2B Trail project planning comes from reviewing existing trail plans from various levels and agencies, including the State Trails Plan, the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments SEMCOG/SEMI Trail Plan, the Washtenaw County Wide Trail Plan, and the plan for the larger corridor within which the segment will lie (Huron River Drive between Ann Arbor and Dexter would be one such corridor on the B2B Trail). These existing plans help to inform the overall project plan, and ensure that it aligns with a larger trail network.
Once plans are reviewed, we begin to define the corridor that the segment will lie along, creating a map with available data that will need to be taken into account when identifying the segment route (topography, wetlands, roads, rivers, historic information, etc.), and looking for constraints and opportunities that might be critical to the plan.
Next up comes walking the site. This is a critical step since it’s much easier to see natural details and potential problems on foot than through the windshields of a car. Information and photos from the site walk further inform the site map.
A key part of the process in developing any community trail like the B2B Trail is gathering information from stakeholders and the public. Stakeholders can include project partners, which, in the case of the B2B Trail could include groups such as the Huron Clinton Metropark Authority (HCMA), who contribute land, funding, and expertise to help construct the trail; the Huron River Watershed Council, who represent a broad cross-section of the environmental community and operate the nationally designated Huron River Water Trail; and the Washtenaw County Recreation Commission (WCRC) who often provide guidance on how to promote safety when interacting with roadways and vehicular traffic. Similarly, public input is most impactful early on in the process, helping to identify route options, ideas, constraints, and providing an opportunity to learn from people who live near or frequent the proposed project site.
Once all of this information is gathered, various options are outlined on a map before landing on a “preferred option” that eventually becomes the basis for design engineering – the next major phase in the lengthy but rewarding process of trail development.
Trail User Spotlight
BY HWPI StaffFebruary 10, 2023
Photos of Bob on the B2B Trail in Gallup Park in Ann Arbor
Avid trail user Bob Spaly can be found on the Border to Border Trail all four seasons of the year. Bob was a marathon runner in his younger years and frequently trained on the B2B. While he worked hard and always competed, he never took the races too seriously and thus preferred the friendly faces and beautiful settings along the trail to that of roadsides or tracks. After years of running, Bob transitioned to cycling, where he would complete 20-30 mile rides along the pathways of the B2B and connecting local trails.
Today, Bob requires the use of a motorized wheelchair for mobility. An athlete by nature, he continues to log miles on his favorite trail corridors traveling up to 10 miles on a given visit. Nothing but heavy rain, ice, or strong winds can keep him away. (He is certainly built for Michigan weather!)
When asked what he likes most about using the trail, Bob references the freedom to move around as he pleases – something that is difficult for him in other settings. Like many of us who love the outdoors, accessing fresh air and the region’s natural beauty is essential to his mental health and well-being. The trail gives him access to everything from rivers to woodlands to bustling downtown communities.
While Bob enjoys many B2B Trail segments – including Zeeb Road to downtown Dexter, the Chelsea-Stockbridge Corridor, and the pathways at Gallup Park and Hudson Mills Metropark – he can’t wait until he can head out his front door near Huron River Drive to hop on his favorite trail. It is a day that all of us who support the B2B Trail are working hard to make a reality, and we can’t wait to experience it along with him!
Matthaei Botanical Gardens Trail – This B2B Trail spur consists of a multiuse trail that is accessible at Geddes Road and Dixboro Road, east of US-23, in Ann Arbor near Parker Mill County Park. This trail connects to the many natural trails that can be found on the Botanical Garden’s property.
At their most basic level, trails connect people to places, and connect one place to another. They bridge communities and bring people of all abilities, ages, and backgrounds together.
While the goal of the Border To Border Trail has been, and continues to be, linking the communities within Washtenaw County – quite literally from the western border to the eastern border, and everywhere in between – we also envision a larger trail system where regional connectivity through non motorized pathways becomes a natural part of the southeast Michigan way of life. In our eyes, borders should be seen as bridges to people and places, not barriers.
Therefore, in recent months, the Huron Waterloo Pathways Initiative (HWPI) and Washtenaw County Parks and Recreation Commission (WCPARC) – the public-private partnership behind the B2B Trail – have been working with neighboring communities both within and outside Washtenaw County to connect the B2B Trail to surrounding trail networks with a goal of increasing trail access for more people, and especially those that would otherwise lack safe and easy access to trails. We currently have three examples of trail connection partnerships in various stages of development.
The Northwest Passage Trail connects directly into the B2B Trail in Dexter, and extends north through the Hudson Mills Metropark, with a goal to expand through Stinchfield Woods and into Pinckney. This in-county trail has been in the planning stages for a number of years, and was originally within the path of the B2B Trail itself. We are excited to move this project forward with support in the form of fundraising, design, and engineering.
The Van Buren Township Trail is our first connection into Wayne County. The planned trail connects to the easternmost edge of the B2B Trail in Ypsilanti Township in Washtenaw County, and extends into Van Buren Park, through the city of Belleville, and eventually into the Lower Huron Metropark. This project will be operated and owned by Van Buren Township and Wayne County, but with significant consultation and partnership from HWPI and WCPARC.
Lastly, our B2B Trail partners are working with both Jackson and Ingham Counties to extend the B2B Trail into the Stockbridge Trailhead of the Mike Levine Lakeland Trail – a 34-mile non-motorized trail that stretches from South Haven to Port Huron. When combined with the completed B2B Trail, this exciting connection will offer trail users miles of continuous trail that is near unparalleled in our corner of the state.
To be sure, goal number one for all of us involved in the B2B Trail project is to complete the 55-mile county-wide trail in the coming years. Yet, as this project continues to move forward and closer to completion, we are excited to be able to work with partner agencies and surrounding counties to help create a truly world-class regional trail system that knows no borders.
To learn more about nearby and connecting trails follow the link.
